Chong I, Kim, owner of Cee Kay Beauty Supply in Findlay Market is reflected in the security mirror in his Over-the-Rhine store. Photo by Glenn Hartong

Memories of a market bustling with visitors from Indiana, Dayton, Middletown and the suburbs are as vibrant as the hair dyes on the shelves of Cee Kay Beauty on Elder Street.

But not as permanent.

‘‘Twenty years ago, customers came from all over the Tristate to shop in this historic area,’’ says Mr. Kim, 59, of Kenwood, a double-storefront shop owner who left Korea in 1975.

‘‘And before the trouble last year, some stores down here were open seven days a week — seven days. Those same shops are closed.’’

Though police respond quickly when trouble occurs, he says violence ‘‘has not changed or has gotten worse’’ in the last year.

Three weeks ago, a stabbing victim from a street-corner fight staggered into his store. ‘‘Blood spilled out all over. We called 911 and they came right away. But the store was closed four hours. And just the other day a customer pulled out a $20 bill to pay and someone came up from behind trying to grab it.’’

A sense of neighborhood is missing, says Mr. Kim. ‘‘There’s too much litter, too much trouble.’’

He wishes police, City Council and residents would cooperate, maybe compromise.

‘‘It used to be Cincinnati was one of the best places to live in the U.S. Now when I go out of state, friends ask me, ‘Are you all right there?’ I don’t want trouble again. We have to find a better way.’’